


A Child's Promise

by SilyaBeeodess



Series: Tales of the Fire Spirits [9]
Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:40:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25889731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilyaBeeodess/pseuds/SilyaBeeodess
Summary: A young prince is caught by surprise when a fire spirit find its way into his home.  What's a kid to do?
Series: Tales of the Fire Spirits [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1613302
Comments: 3
Kudos: 33





	A Child's Promise

He’d only seen the fire spirits before at a distance; in the deepest parts of the forest when he’d visited the woodwards with his parents, or when Subcon’s denizens needed to organize around the foxes’ rituals and the barriers that manifested during them. He knew they sometimes ventured into town, even making themselves at home within ovens or fireplaces, but he’d also been warned about how dangerous they could be. From the simple nature of their element to their habit of sometimes stealing people away, they were creatures to be wary around.

Which was why the young prince kept himself hidden behind the doorframe as he spied on the small fox that had somehow found its way into the palace kitchen. He shuffled nervously from foot to foot, wishing he had his mask with him, but it was tucked away in his room. Why would he have it? Kids only ever really needed them when playing in the forest or travelling its dirt trails. This was his own home! 

One of the servants had promised to make jelly biscuits as a snack for him earlier in the day. He’d only wanted to check how they were doing, but instead of finding any such treats, he’d stumbled upon a fire spirit a little over half his size nestled in one of the stone ovens instead. It was napping in a coiled ball amid the low embers as if it didn’t have a care in the world… How it managed to sneak inside was beyond him though.

The boy didn’t know what to do beyond finding an adult, and by then he worried that the spirit might set the room on fire in his absence. So, he kept watch where he was at a safe distance and hoped it didn’t wake up. He just wondered what would he even do if it did since all he’d ever been told to do was avoid them. How could anyone fight off a creature made of fire, especially someone that was barely more than six years old?

The fox fascinated the child though, he could admit that. Its fur seemed to glow brighter than the low flames that surrounded it, and there was a fearlessness to its behavior, making itself at home without a care in the world. It was a being that went where it pleased and did what it wanted, only concerned where its next source of food or entertainment would come from next. A rather arrogant creature, but its powerful abilities justified its pride. 

He was so caught up by wonder that he didn’t notice someone creeping up behind him until a callused, but gentle hand fell on his shoulder—startling him. He glanced around to see the maid that promised him sweets press a finger to her lips. In her other hand, she cradled a small stack of wood beneath her arm.

“They’re lovely, aren’t they?” she whispered, they stepped around him and into the kitchen in a way his young mind thought was bravery. Despite how she acted as if this was routine for her day, each movement was purposeful. Her steps were confident, but also soft, and she carefully placed each of the quarter logs in the oven with a faint shuffle before moving back. As she tended to the already prepped batter and began to cut out the biscuits on a tray, the fire spirit’s ears twitched as it was roused. Only then did the prince realize that was her intent, waking it in a gentle fashion. 

The fox wasn’t surprised by her appearance. If anything, it ignored her completely and instead turned its focus to the newly set wood that surrounded it. It began to nibble on the bark, aiding the already catching flames as fire licked past its teeth. The servant, meanwhile, withdrew a dry slab of bread from a nearby cupboard, whistled softly to get the creature’s attention, and then gave the wasted food a light, underhanded toss across the floor. The spirit dove for it immediately, a joyful ‘yip’ resounding from its throat.

Unknowingly, the boy shuffled a little further out of hiding as he watched on. The spirit picked up the bread with both hands, its tail wagging like a dog’s as it ate voraciously. The crust scorched no sooner than it was slipped past its fangs, and the woman had to toss a second piece over for further distraction in order to finish her task, slide the tray in the oven, and seal it without trouble. 

With a hand on her hip and an amused grin, she turned to face the young prince again, “Would you like to feed it?”

Pulling his lips into a tense line, he bundled the front of his shirt in his hands nervously and looked down. He kind of did… He wasn’t supposed to though, right? No more than feeding any other wild animal. “I’ll get in trouble…”

As if reading his mind, she replied with a snort, “I think your parents will give you a pass on this, Your Highness,” and handed him another slice. She explained further, “The fire spirits come around more often than you might think. They’re not domesticated, but they’re perfectly used to us here in the kitchen.”

He thought he over a little more, feeling at the bread. It really was hard, leftovers from several days ago with tiny spots of mold already beginning to bloom along one corner. He stuck his tongue out in disgust, then looked to the fire spirit who didn’t seem to mind them even as they finished their second slice. “Are they like helpers?”

The servant hummed at the question, “I guess so, even if they’re _unreliable helpers_. You can thank them for keeping the fires going around here, but they still pretty much do whatever they please.”

“So, this one’s a good fox…” At last he felt a tiny smile that soon turned to a look of determination. The prince was still nervous, but he gingerly walked over to the fire spirit, trying to carry himself with the same quiet confidence that the servant did—even if the way he jerked the bread outward in offering as he stooped down was far from regal.

It took a second for the fire spirit to notice him, tilting its head back and then flipping around on all fours. “Food!” It craned its neck forward to pull away half of the bread with its teeth and fall back once again, hands catching the crumbling remains as it munched on. Feeding the spirit seemed to be like feeding a roaring furnace, each bite rapidly torched with the being never feeling full no matter how much was tossed down its gullet. Soon enough, it was reaching for the rest like a begging child.

The prince’s smile began to widen as he passed over the rest and the fox eagerly swiped it away, repeating the same happy, if hungry behavior. “Is it tasty?” he asked, then pressed the fox further by echoing the word as one might to a baby learning their first words, “ _Tasty?_ ” 

_“Tassh-tee?”_ came the muffled reply as the spirit struggled with the new vocabulary between mouthfuls, _“Tassh-tee! Tassh-tee!”_ The boy laughed in delight, clapping his hands, and the spirit fidgeted its ears at the sound before seemingly giggling along with him.

He felt a bit nervous again as, this time, he reached out to pet the creature’s head. The latter recoiled a bit at the sudden touch, but soon enough settled down to focus once more on the bread in its hands. The allowance was enough to embolden the child to keep his hand there for a while, stroking the soft fur between its ears. The little, luminous hairs cast a faint, yellow light against his skin in the already bright glow of the midday sunbeams pouring in from the windows. They seemed to flicker just like real flames through his fingertips. “It’s so warm…” he noted softly, the spirit’s body temperature so much higher than his own thanks to the roaring, eternal flame that made up the core of its being.

“I see we have a guest,” came a second female voice, although this one a deeper alto than the servant’s. The prince recognized it instantly and looked up toward the sound as if embarrassed. It was his mother, looking at him with a light smirk. Rather than scold him, however, she also accepted a piece of bread from the other woman and joined at his side, the elaborate folds of her skirt bundling around her as she kneeled. Her eyes were caring as she too fed the spirit and it accepted her offering as gleefully as before, unbothered by the growing numbers around it.

The boy watched his mother in awe, seeing the grace with which she acted and how content the spirit seemed to be at her side, finishing up its last snack quick and then—to his surprise—scurrying up her form until it could nuzzle its cheek against her own. It practically cooed at her, its tail wagging merrily behind it, and she pet it along the back in gentle, soothing motions. 

She smiled at her son, “You need to be wary around the spirits, but they’re just as much our subjects as any Dweller, so when you get older, you’ll need to take good care of them too. Do you think you can do that?”

“It seems like he’s already off to a good start, miss,” the servant replied behind her, hiding a smile behind her hand.

The young prince blinked up at them both, but his own grin swiftly returned to him as well. He nodded firmly, “Yeah! I can do it! When I get big, I’m gonna look after all the forest!”


End file.
